More power to small boats
Marine diesel electric and hybrid drive systems, where the power is generated by more than one source, have been used in large ships and submarines for many years. However, until now it has not been possible to transfer such systems successfully to smaller craft. Achieving this was the goal of the 'High efficiency hybrid drive trains for small and medium sized marine craft' (HYMAR) project funded by the EU. The project set out to develop an optimised hybrid system that would be close to being market ready. At the end of its third year, the HYMAR project carried out a major re-evaluation of all the data it had collected. The conclusion drawn from this analysis was that the initial focus on serial hybrid systems had been misplaced, and that the project's objectives would be better met by parallel hybrid systems. Thus, the project team was granted a project extension in order to explore other options. This enabled HYMAR to develop a parallel hybrid system that has since been installed, tested and validated on marine craft. The project has also developed modified lead-acid batteries that demonstrate enhanced performance in hybrid applications. Furthermore, HYMAR has built a comprehensive energy management module and graphical user interface able to control the energy flows of an entire craft. The optimised hybrid system developed during the project offers three major advantages: no detectable emissions, no discernible noise and a substantial reduction in fuel consumption. Although the project is now complete, some relatively minor work remains to be done to make the system a market-ready solution for both commercial and recreational craft.
